Former prison may become site for homeless veterans

DENVER  An aging former prison in southeast Colorado is unusable for many purposes and should be turned into transitional housing for the chronically homeless, state budget-writers were told.

The governors office is asking for $840,000  and an additional $6 million or so during the next two fiscal years  to repurpose the former Fort Lyon Correctional Facility in Las Animas. The prison was closed last year because of a declining prison population.

The fences are down at the century-old facility, but officials have struggled for two years to find a new life for Fort Lyon. The former Veterans Affairs hospital was a major employer in rural Bent County, and lawmakers were told that the federal government wont take Fort Lyon back and that the aging property shouldnt be just boarded up and abandoned.

We have a facility that is going to be expensive even if we mothball it, said Roxane White, chief of staff to Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper.

Fort Lyon was envisioned as a treatment facility for up to 200 homeless people who would receive job training and mental-health and drug treatment. White said veterans would get priority to move to Fort Lyon, which would be operated by the nonprofit Colorado Coalition for the Homeless.

A presentation to lawmakers on Thursday showed leafy scenes at the historic Fort Lyon campus, with a description of the former prison as a fresh and safe environment for homeless individuals to begin a sustainable path to recovery.

But lawmakers from both parties seemed skeptical: What if the homeless people dont want to go?

I would not want to see us taking these people against their will, Gerou asked.

White insisted that Fort Lyon residency would be completely optional, not a return to institutionalization of the poor and mentally ill.

We would never force someone. We would never have anyone court-ordered to this facility. We would not go down that historical route, White said.

Democratic Rep. Claire Levy wondered about expensive upkeep at the old prison.

Would you really feel that this facility, with all its maintenance issues, is the best place? Levy asked.

White countered that building a new residential center for the chronically homeless would be more expensive. And she pointed out that the people of Bent County want something done with Fort Lyon.

They want this facility, White said. If you know of another community across this state who is opening their arms to 200 to 300 homeless people being moved into the community, Id love to know where it is.

The Joint Budget Committee didnt act on the homeless proposal for Fort Lyon. Lawmakers must approve the $840,000 by the end of the year to proceed with the governors plan.